Ethisphere and EthicOne Announce Major New Research Collaboration for Communications Industry

Firms to conduct first detailed ethics benchmarking study of communications and marketing functions in major corporations.

NEW YORK, June 13, 2018 – The Ethisphere Institute and EthicOne today announced a major new ethics research and benchmarking initiative for the communications and marketing industry. Ethisphere, the global leader in business ethics, and EthicOne, the ethical brand strategy and communications partner of Ethisphere, will conduct the first-ever benchmarking of corporate marketing and communications functions to determine the essential practices for the most ethical companies.

The study, which comes on the heels of major crises of ethics and trust in the industry, will include a wide cross section of Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Companies honorees, but is open to other corporations and organizations that want to compare their communications functions with these global ethics leaders. U.S. Bank and Voya Financial are leading the way as founding participants of the study.

“Chief Communications Officers and CMOs are increasingly responsible for building brands based on ethics, transparency and trust,” said David Herrick, Managing Principal of EthicOne. “But with that critical mandate must come a new model for organizing, governing and practicing communications. Our study of the world’s leading companies will help the entire marketing communications industry step up to its responsibilities to build brands with ethics at the core.”

The study will explore the role of the communications function in ethics leadership, culture, trust and transparency, and stakeholder engagement. The governance, authority, reporting relationships and organizational structures of the communications functions in leading companies will also be evaluated.

“At U.S. Bank we believe in doing the right thing for our customers and our communities. This mindset has helped us build trust with all of our stakeholders,” said Dana Ripley, Chief Communications Officer, U.S. Bank. “This research will identify best practices for communications functions and teams in an era where we must focus on transparent communications. We are pleased to join other corporate leaders in benchmarking best practices for the entire marketing communications industry.”

“Over the past decade, Ethisphere has significantly advanced global knowledge of the best practices in business ethics,” said Timothy Erblich, CEO, Ethisphere Institute. “We are now in a position to bring the same level of analytical rigor to the communications and marketing functions in leading global companies.”

Ethisphere and EthicOne are opening participation to the benchmarking study beginning this week. For more information about how companies can participate in the study and receive detailed insights, visit: https://ethisphere.com/ethicone-benchmarking-study/.

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About Ethic OneEthicOne helps the world’s leading companies and organizations turn their commitment to ethical business practices into market leadership. In partnership with Ethisphere, we benchmark and advise clients on best practices in communicating and marketing ethics leadership, and we build the strategies and programs to help them activate their ethics leadership with employees, customers, investors and regulators. For more information, visit https://www.ethicone.com.

About EthisphereThe Ethisphere® Institute is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies® recognition program, provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) and showcases trends and best practices in ethics with Ethisphere Magazine. Ethisphere is also the leading provider of independent verification of corporate ethics and compliance programs that include: Ethics Inside® Certification and Compliance Leader Verification™. More information about Ethisphere can be found at https://ethisphere.com.

The Ethisphere® Institute is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust, and business success. We have a deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character and believe integrity and transparency impact the public trust and the bottom line of any organization.